Governor LePage, cover model

The most recent edition of The Progressive, a national (progressive-leaning, obviously) news magazine, features a caricature of Governor Paul LePage front and center on its cover, riding a rocket or bomb labeled ALEC along with other Republican governors.

The magazine’s cover story, written by Abby Scher and titled “Paul LePage, Maine’s Embarassment,” discusses the closeness of the race this year, corporate influences within the LePage administration (hence the ALEC ordnance) and some of the controversies LePage has caused.

The piece also examines LePage’s meetings with members of the sovereign citizen movement, which I describe in detail in my book, and includes some candid reaction to the episode from Senate President Justin Alfond:

Instead of reporting the threat, LePage brokered a meeting between these far rightwingers and the county sheriff overseeing the state capitol, whose help they wanted in going after the two legislators.

“The sovereign citizen movement is a threat to our family, our wives,” says Alfond. “This has been really, really hard on us, to know there are people out there…” His voice trails, and then he continues: “This group uses violence and threats of violence to get their agenda done. To me, the fact that the governor of our state is spending sixteen-plus hours with a group that the FBI and police of our state have deemed an active terrorist group just shows what our governor thinks, what’s a priority for him.”

The full article is available to subscribers through the magazine’s website.

About Mike Tipping

Mike is Maine's longest-writing political blogger and explores state politics and policy with a focus on analysis and explanation. He works at the Maine People's Alliance and Maine People's Resource Center.
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Mike Tipping

Mike is Maine's longest-writing political blogger and explores state politics and policy with a focus on analysis and explanation. He works at the Maine People's Alliance and Maine People's Resource Center.